Sneezes

Just wondering, has anyone ever heard their hog make noises? Almost sounds like a sneeze. She doesn't have a resp. infection and is in good health, says the vet. I have her on soil substrate. Could it be allergies? it's such a bizarre noise and afterwards she opens her mouth a few times.

alittle worried...

I have not heard any noises from mine, except for the occassional hissing . But along these lines, what are the signs of a respiratory infection? Are there indications that the snake is getting sick before it gets to be too severe?

I've never heard mine sneeze - but she did go through a phase once of opening her mouth at me a bit (but not hissing) when I went toward her in her viv.

Does she do it often? Or maybe if she's burrowing through the soil she might have got a bit stuck in her nostrils and sneezes to get it out?

With an RI (in snakes in general) they usually exhibit some other signs as well, like mucousy mouth and nostrils and may sound wheezy. This is what I have read on the various boa and ball python forums - luckily I haven't had to deal with it myself.

I hope she's OK, you said you'd taken her to the vet so hopefully it isn't anything.

Thanks for the help.
She doesn't do it often when she does some clear bubbles come out of her nose. I have noticed that sometimes the soil does stick in her nostrils. That could be why! She was previously on antibiotics for a resp. infection. she had bubbles, too much saliva, and made some popping noises when breathing. Of course in addition to not eating!

Glad yours had a period of opening her mouth too, I do wonder why they do it more then other snakes...esp. after eating...I guess, after all they are little pigs

Do you have a preference for soil? I use aspen shavings, and they love digging and burrowing into it! I place about 2 inches at the bottom of the cage, maybe a little thicker over the UTH.

i use a top soil mix, have to make sure no added fertilizer. Its about 3 inches deep. She loves it, and it looks great. The only downfall is that it gets dry very quickly...have to spray it everyday to keep it moist.

Would you be able to post a pic of the cage/setup? I would be very interested to see how it looks!

Do hoggies like a high humidity? I thought they preferred drier areas. I use aspen for mine (nice and thick) but have often thought of soil for other species than the monitor and rankins dragons I use it for.

No, i wouldn't say they like high humidity, but with the soil in the tank and the heat lamp I have, it gets too dry. She previously was dehydrated a bit and had a hard time shedding, so I make sure to keep it moist now. Especially since i heard her sneeze. Maybe it's too dusty. She seems to stay where it is more moist in the cage. She digs more too...i think she thinks a toad is going to be hiding under there. hah!

Ill post some pics later today

Here's the pictures I promised, sorry it took me so long!!